Malmö is Sweden's third largest municipality with a population of around 305,000 in the municipalty, and around 650,000 in the metropolitan area. It's a port city located in the province of Skåne (Scania) on the southern tip of the country.

Understand

History

Founded in 1272 as a fortified port 20 km from Lund. Malmö was for centuries the second largest Danish city while Scania was under Danish rule. It served as a hanseatic port and a very lucrative trade area. Malmö dominated the south as the largest market hub until Copenhagen grew larger during the 16th century. In 1658, as a result of many years of war, Denmark ceded the city to Sweden in the Treaty of Roskilde. After an industrial revolution, Malmö grew rapidly and served as one of the earliest and most industrialized cities of Scandinavia but, until the turn of the millennium it was regarded more as a dull worker's city in the backdrop of more cultural cities in Sweden. The opening of the Oresund bridge in 2000 reignited the soul of a bustling hanseatic port that had lay dormant for so many centuries.

Today about one third of the Malmö population are from various other countries, making the city the most cosmopolitan in Sweden. This has contributed to a rich cultural life and many exotic and fine food opportunities. The ship building company of Kockums used to be the city's biggest employer, but today the industrial city of old has been replaced by vast areas of middle-class suburban housing and modern eco-friendly neighbourhoods.

Get in

By plane

Both Malmö Airport (Sturup) [1] and Copenhagen Airport (Kastrup) [2] serve Malmö. If you get to the Malmö Airport you'll then have to take the bus shuttle service to downtown Malmö, but first check the schedules at Flygbussarna's homepage [3] because on Saturday afternoons they don't have many buses.

From Copenhagen Airport you can either take the train or the bus, bus being the cheapest option. Trains run frequent during the day to Malmö Central and takes around 20 minutes (105 SEK in 2013). [4]. There is one daily direct bus by Gråhundbus (http://www.graahundbus.dk/7-besk.htm) which coincides with Ryanair schedules. For other airlines (different arrival and departure times) you other options are: https://www.p-airbus.com and http://www.neptunbus.dk/en.

By train

There are several train stations in Malmö, the Malmö Centralstation (Main Station) being the largest. Trains to Copenhagen depart from Malmö Centralstation, Triangeln and Hylle. Regional trains always pass or depart from Malmö C, Triangeln and Hyllie. Depending on direction and train type they may call at Burlöv, Svågertorp and Oxie.

Trains from Copenhagen take 25 minutes from København H (Copenhagen Central Station) to Malmö. They leave all day from Elsinore (Helsingør), traversing the east coast of Sjælland, before crossing through Copenhagen and then across the Öresund bridge to Malmö, also connecting Kastrup airport to the city. Since the December 2010 opening of the Citytunneln, trains now travel every 10 minutes directly to Malmö Central, with a stop at the new Triangeln station in the city center. Expect to pay 190 SEK for a return ticket to Kastrup airport or Copenhagen Central.

There are about ten daily X2000 trains [5] to Stockholm and roughly 100 daily departures for the nearby university town of Lund (17 km north). For travel northward, there are hourly services to Helsingborg and Gothenburg with connections to Oslo. There is also a overnight service connecting Malmö to Berlin[6] running nightly or every second night depending on season.

Night trains depart for and Storlien (Friday and Sunday) with connection to Trondheim. For every-night connection, grab a train (or bus) for Gothenburg.

Frequent and regular local trains go from Malmö south throughout the province of Scania to Lund, Helsingborg, Höör and Ystad. These are known as Pågatågen, operated by Skåne Commuter Rail.

By car

If you don't take the train across the bridge (and tunnel), you can drive for yourself. It is a pay bridge, where you pay on the Swedish side regardless if you are arriving from Denmark or departing Sweden (325 DKK/45 EUR/375 SEK in 2013)[7]. The view is much less obstructed if you choose to go by car as compared to train. [8]

The 8 kilometre long Øresund bridge leading to Copenhagen in Denmark

By bus

Gråhundbus[9], Swebus[10], GoByBus[11] and Eurolines[12] have routes to Copenhagen and other places. To Copenhagen the buses take longer (about an hour) but are cheaper than the train, especially for day trips.

By boat

There is a ferry link from Travemünde, Germany to Malmö by Finnlines[13].
Also, you can take the Bus 146 to Trelleborg, which takes 45 minutes, costs 55 Krones and runs every 20 Minutes at daytime. Ferries from Trelleborg are cheaper and quicker and go directly to Travemünder, Rostock and Sassnitz on Rügen.

Get around

Malmö is best experienced by bicycle, the city is interlaced with lots of bicycle roads. Use the green Skånetrafiken[14] buses to get around town (but note they no longer accept cash payment on the bus, and a bus card costs 200 SEK). If you want to get to Hyllie (for Emporia Shopping Centre and Malmö Arena) from central Malmö, train is recomended. The price is the same as on the bus. Taxi is also an option, fixed rates begin at 49/59/79 SEK.

See

Malmö's Big Square (Stortorget)

At the heart of Malmö lie three squares, called Gustav Adolf's Square (Gustav Adolfs torg), the Big Square (Stortorget) and the Little Square (Lilla torg). Stortorget and Lilla Torg are directly connected at one corner, and a pedestrians only shopping street connects them with Gustav Adolfs torg.

At the center of the Big Square is a statue of King Karl X Gustav of Sweden, who took the city from Danish dominion. The ornate Malmö City Hall (built in 1546) is on the east side, and in the northwest corner is Kockska Huset, the house of Jörgen Kock, a German immigrant who became mayor of the city and achieved wealth simply and directly: by taking control of the city mint. In the winter the square becomes a skating rink.

The Little Square is the place for socializing and dining, with various restaurants having outdoor tables around the edge of the square.

Gustav Adolfs torg is surrounded on three sides by buildings containing shops and a McDonalds. At the center of the square is a bus platform. A cemetery lies at the south side of the square, through which one can reach Slottsparken, a beautiful park that surrounds Malmöhus.

Malmöhus Castle

Malmöhus Castle, located west of the old city core, was built in 1437 by Erik of Pomerania, inhabited by the kings of Denmark in the 1500s, and used as a prison until 1914. Currently it houses a history museum, art museum, aquarium, and terrarium. Sharing the castle grounds are the Kommendanthuset (Commandant's House) used for various exhibitions throughout the year. Fiskehoddorna - a small, traditional fish market - lies nearby.

Technology Museum, Malmö

Tekniska och Sjöfartsmuseet (Technology and Maritime Museum), located west of the castle. The largest section of the museum is devoted to transport, in particular aviation, and there are lots of cut-away models, including the entire front end and cockpit of a Vickers Viscount. Visitors can walk (crawl, actually in places) through a 1943 Swedish U3 submarine. Unfortunately the displays are only labelled in Swedish, but is well worth a visit, nonetheless. Adult entrance fee is 40SEK.

Slottsträdgården, Malmö

Slottsträdgården, (Castle Garden) located south of the castle, within Kungsparken (King's Park). This is one of the city's newest amenities and is an organic community garden, open throughout the year. There are eight themed gardens and a potager. Freshly picked flowers and vegetables are available for purchase in the summer months. There is also a small cafe, run entirely by volunteers.

Turning Torso, completed in 2005, is at 190 m the tallest building in Scandinavia. Mostly apartments with some offices, it's located in a new zone near the waterfront and has no observation tower or other sightseeing facilities, so it's probably best to admire it from afar (visible from almost anywhere in the city). If you are visiting in the summer there is a nice waterfront promenade and a open-sea bath nearby the Turning Torso. There is also a state of the art skateboarding park in the area.

Möllevångstorget square, south of the city center, has a bustling open-air market on weekends. The surrounding neighborhood is full of inexpensive Asian and Middle Eastern shops, restaurants and grocery stores catering to the alternative side of the city, the immigrant population and people who are tired of mainstream commerce.

Gamla Väster, between Lilla Torget and Malmöhus, is a quiet and sophisticated part of town with lots of galleries, design shops and restaurants.

Davidshallstorg is a square with design shops, clothes stores and restaurants. The atmosphere here is posh, so the vibe is very different from Möllevångstorget's. There are similar shops on the nearby parts of Davidshallsgatan.

Koggmuseet[15] lets you set foot on two cog ships built after originals from the middle ages.

S:t Petri church, Malmö

S:t Petri kyrka is the city's oldest church (from the 14th century), while S:t Johannes kyrka probably is the largest.

Browsing the shelves of Malmö Stadsbibliotek[16] (Malmö's public library, Kung Oscars väg) and admiring the building itself is a must for all architecture buffs and intellectuals. They will also want to go to Malmö Konsthall[17] (Malmö Art Hall, S:t Johannesgatan 7, free entrance).

Itineraries

Do

Kungsparken, Malmö

Visit the Folkets park (People's Park, free entrance) [18]. Try the different rides on the amusement park (mostly for smaller kids, as the attractions aren't scary enough for teenagers). See the terrarium. Ride a pony. Sunbathe. Eat and drink.

Go to the Pildammsparken (with gardens, buildings from the Baltic exhibition in 1914 and a theater) and Kungsparken / Slottsparken (behind the castle). Sunbathe or have a picnic.

Don't miss Malmöfestivalen[19] - a free festival that takes place for eight days every year in August, with lots of cultural and culinary experiences.

Swim and sunbathe on the two-kilometre sandy beach Ribersborgsstranden. In the winter you can enjoy ice swimming, ideally combined with Kallbadhuset's [20] sauna with panoramic view of Öresund.

Experience the multicultural area around Möllevångstorget. Here you can find exotic shops selling Asian and Middle Eastern food stuffs and a wide selection of pubs and bars. In the mornings there is also an open market where you can buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

The flat landscape of Skåne is ideal for golf. Around Malmö there are quite a few good courses and a new 36 holes PGA standard course being built.

Malmö Arena hosts various international concerts as well as the hockey team Malmö Redhawks (with the capacity of 13 000 specators), currently playing in the Swedish second division Allsvenskan. [21]

The football team Malmö FF is playing in the first division in the Swedish league Allsvenskan. Since the founding in 1910, the club has won the Swedish league sixteen times and the Swedish cup fourteen times, being the most successful club in Sweden in regards of awarded titles. [22]

Learn

Work

Many companies are moving from Stockholm and other cities to Malmö. Many multinational companies, such as Honeywell, have offices in Malmö.

Buy

Malmö has five shopping plazas in the centre, HansaCompagniet[24], Triangeln[25], Entré[26], Storgatan[27], and Caroli[28]. Storgatan mostly has clothes for young people and coffee shops. The others offer the usual mixture of town shopping with clothes, cameras, jewelry, electronics, books, movies etc. blended with eateries, both international fast food chains and local ones. World famous Swedish glassware can also be bought there.

The main shopping streets are Södergatan and Södra Förstadsgatan, where you can find all kinds of shops. Look out for Village, well designed homeware, at reasonable prices.

There are also some shopping plazas outside the city centre, like Mobilia Shopping Center[30] and Jägersro Center[31]. Emporia, Scandinavias biggest shopping centre, opened in October 2012. [32].

Eat

If you arrive around Christmas, look out for pepparkakor, literally pepper cookies, but flavoured with cinnamon, ginger, molasses and cloves. Traditionally accompanied by glögg (mulled wine), which is similar to the German glühwein.

Localy, Malmö is sometimes refered to as "Falafelstaden" or Falafel city. This is because of the many vendors selling falafel throughout the city but especially around Bergsgatan / Möllevångstorget. Falafel in Malmö is equally a delicious fast food meal and very cheap (around 15-30 sek for a wrap). Ask anyone which vendor who does the best one and you'll get many different answers. The deep fried chickpea balls are almost always sold in a flat bread wrap together with lettuce, tomato, onions, gerkin and other pickles. Chose between hot sauce, yoghurt sauce and garlic sauce(stark, mild och vitlök) or mix them all up (blandad sås). Some vendors sell more specialized exotic sauces like: sesame sauce, hummus (chickpea puré) or mango pickle sauce (amba). At falafel vendors you can also buy delicacies like kebab, shawarma and deep fried halloumi cheese, all usually served in a flatbread wrap or with french fries (pommes frites) at a (by Swedish standards) very low price.

Budget

Many places around Möllevångstorget cater to the budget option. Get a falafel (15-25 SEK), Indian, Thai, Middle Eastern or Chinese meal from 35 SEK and up. Plenty to choose from. Råå Bar & Restaurang and Krua Thai on Möllevångstorget are two great, inexpensive Thai places. On Södra Förstadsgatan near Möllevångstorget are a number of good places - Ganesha does tasty and cheap Indian fast food for 45 SEK and up, and restaurant Middle East has good shawarmas for 30 SEK. Just off Möllevångstorget on Ystadsgatan is an unpretentious Persian restaurant which does good food.

Restaurang Asien is an unpretentious looking restaurant that serves delicious vietnamese food. You'll find it a short walk from Möllevångstorget, down Ystadsgatan. On the menu you will find food like Pho or Vietnamese springrolls. Very tasty and reasonably priced.

La Empanada[33], Själbodgatan 10, is a price worthy option for a budget traveller, big portions at a low cost. It is a chain with three outings that serves both Latin American and Swedish food.

Turkish restaurant Ankara (on Södra Förstadsgatan near the Hilton Hotel) does an excellent buffet (59 SEK daytime and 79 SEK evenings). On Friday and Saturday evenings they have a free belly-dancing show too.

Indian Haweli on Södra Förstadsgatan near Möllevångstorget is not the best Indian restaurant in town and the service is quite bad (140 SEK).

Restaurang Bollywood is an great new experience considering indian food. Placed in the middle of the city centre on Baltzarsgatan 18. The food is classic indian but with an modern touch. Highly recommended and pricewourthy. Mains 130 - 200 SEK

La Couronne on Södra Förstadsgatan (north of the Hilton Hotel) +46 4030 7728, [39]. Does excellent moules marinieres with or without french fries and mayonnaise. Great friendly service and authentic French menu. Mains 90-225 SEK.

Brogatan on Brogatan serves oysters at 14 SEK each, which is almost what you'd pay in the shop (12 SEK).

Nesta on the main shopping street (at the corner of Baltzarsgatan) is an excellent mid-priced Italian café, with good snacks and Malmö's best coffee.

Pizzeria Ristorante Siciliana (Möllevångsgatan 34) is an authentic Italian restaurant with great food. It was founded in 1970.

Splurge

Drink

Malmö has a vibrant night life, and while prices are generally lower than in other Swedish cities,they are for the most part substantially higher than they are across the bridge in Copenhagen. Lille Torg is the epicentre but prices are high, you could also try Möllevångstorget where any of the many bars, cafés and restaurants in this bustling part of town is good value. Like in Copenhagen, and indeed most of Scandinavia, expect most of the drinking to be limited to Friday and Saturday except at the height of summer where many Swedes have vacation. You can pick up the free Nöjesguiden and Dygnet Runt magazines in various stores to read more about Malmö's nightlife. They are only available in Swedish though.

Malmö is also known for its after-hours clubs, called "svartklubbar" ("black clubs", meaning they are part of the black market); These are illegal nightclubs/bars which sell alcohol without a license under the guise of being "private parties" or "Members only clubs", but in reality let anyone in. These establishments often have later opening hours and cheaper prices than legal nightclubs and usually allow smoking; Because of their later opening hours, people often continue their night out by going to a black club when the legal nightclubs close (usually at 3am). The epicentre for these nightclubs is the industrial area on and around Norra Grängesbergsgatan, but they can be found all over Malmö, usually in industrial areas. Due to their illegal nature, these establishments generally do not advertise their whereabouts publicly and can thus be hard to find, but asking some locals or a taxi driver will usually yield results.

Debaser, Norra Parkgatan 2, ☎+46(0)40 23 98 80 (malmo@debaser.se), [47]. 19-03 Wednesday-Saturday. Usually closed Sunday-Tuesday, but sometimes open on those days when there's a gig.. Live music venue that is also a restaurant and night club. Mostly rock/indie/alternative music. More often than not there is at least one live band playing, and almost always one or more guest DJs. check their calendar for more information.Entrance is usually free before 10pm, and 60kr or 90kr after 10pm, but can be both higher or lower depending on which band is playing and what day of the week it is. Check their calendar for more detailed information..

Fagans, Per Weijersgatan 4, ☎+46 (040) 970 990, [49]. Generally 16-23, on Weekends open as long as 02. Great Irish pub just off Gustav Adolf's Square.

Gatan Bar, Mäster Johansgatan 15. Lively pub with darts, located just off the Little Square.Free entrance.

Izakaya Koï, Lilla Torg 5, ☎+46 (040) 757 00.

Kulturbolaget (usually known as just KB), Bergsgatan 18, [50]. Malmö's premier rock club with many international and national touring acts. They also have clubs on weekends for those who are more into partying.

Slagthuset, Jörgen Kocksgatan 7A,, [51]. The city's biggest and best-known nightclub, housed in a former slaughterhouse (hence the name). The facility also includes a performance theater and restaurants during the day.

Sleep

Budget

STF Hostel Malmö City, Rönngatan 1, phone 040-611 62 20, [52]. The IYHF hostel in town. Dorm bed 180 SEK, singles from 325 SEK, doubles from 430 SEK. Add 45 SEK to the price if you're not a member of the IYHF. Daily breakfast available for 65 SEK, but there's also a community kitchen to store and make your own food. It opened in 2006, so it's new and fresh. Helpful staff.

Radisson Blu, [61], Östergatan 10. Central location, and very comfortable. Bedrooms are suite-sized, and include office area and living area, free Wi-fi and Internet. Breakfast is not served after 10.00AM on weekdays!

Contact

Internet cafés

Sidewalk Express, Railway station. 19 SEK per hour.

Gameness, Mäster Nilsgatan 20. 20 SEK per hour.

Twilight Zone, Stora Nygatan 15. 15 SEK per hour.

Stay Safe

In December 2010, the Jewish human rights organization Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a travel advisory concerning Sweden, advising Jews to exercise "extreme caution" when visiting the southern parts of the country due to an increase in verbal and physical harassment of Jewish citizens in the city of Malmö.[62] The warning was renewed in January 2012.[63] However, the local Jewish congregation is critical of the travel advisory and have urged Jews to visit Malmö.

The big problem facing a tourist is the unregulated taxi market. There are many instances of tourists being charged exorbitant prices by unscrupulous taxi drivers. To avoid this happening to you, stick to the well known companies like 171717, 232323, Taxi Skåne, Taxi Kurir etc. Avoid unmarked taxis (taxis in Sweden have yellow registration plates), and always ask for the price of your trip before getting in.

Like in all other big cities, there is a risk of getting pick-pocketed or robbed in the city of Malmö.

If traveling on foot or by car, keep an eye out for bicycles, which expect others to yield.

Cope

Consulates

Greece, Frihamnsallen 5, ☎+46 40 975024 (fax: +46 40 975044).

Get out

Skånetrafiken's Around the Sound (Öresund Rundt) ticket [64] is a great way to see the surrounding region of Scania as well as North Zealand, Denmark (including Copenhagen). For 249 SEK, you get unlimited train travel and one ferry trip, for two days.

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!